(Lousy photo, but it’s the only one I have — Puddle Wonderful at Norm’s Beer & Brats, 1996.)
A few random facts about the band:
* The name Puddle Wonderful comes from an E. E. Cummings poem describing springtime as “mudlucious” and “puddle wonderful.”
* First gig was at the Recyclabell in Duluth in the summer of 1993.
* Last gig was at the North Star Liquor Lounge in Superior in the summer of 1998.
* Reunion show at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon during the Homegrown Music Festival — May 7, 2011.
* All members graduated from Superior Senior High School: guitarist Aaron Ashley (1991), guitarist Greg Conley (1991), drummer Marcus Matthews (1990) and bassist Bryon Gaynor (1991). Ed Willie was the band’s original bassist, and also a 1991 Superior grad. Gaynor replaced him in 1994.
* Before Puddle Wonderful, Conley and Gaynor were in the cover bands Nobel Savage and Young Goodmann Brown.
* Puddle’s first recordings were cassette demos: Sucks to Be You and Snuff.
* Signature cover song in the early days: Neil Diamond’s “Cracklin’ Rosie.”
* Other frequently covered tunes: “Message in a Bottle,” “Home Sweet Home,” “Nightshift,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
* First full-length album released on CD in 1995 — Sweetly Unnecessary (credit Jack Kerouac for the title). Band members financed the album themselves, used the art from a cardboard insert for a shower cap on the cover, and spent three hours before the disc’s release folding inserts. About 400 copies were sold.
* There was a Puddle Wonderful fan club called the “Puddle Girls,” which consisted of a couple of Northwestern High School students. They are pictured on the back cover of Sweetly Unnecessary.
* Profiled in the Duluth News Tribune on Dec. 29, 1995. (Thanks to Laurie Viets for saving the clip.)
* The band broke up before its second full-length album, Barely Legal, could be released.
Share your Puddle memories in the comments.